The site www.dessertcomesfirst.com aptly describes the subsequent ritual:
“First the taho is scooped out into the plastic cups that Manong carries with him, or else we give him one of our own cups. I’ve always been fascinated with how supple and soft the texture of taho is, quivering slightly with every stroke of the scooper. It almost looks as though Manong is carving out ripples in a wave, if such a thing could exist. One of these days, I may just ask him if I can try my hand at scooping out the taho, oh so gently, oh so carefully.

“Once the taho has almost filled the cup, Manong then lifts the lid of the other container. Using a narrow aluminum spoon which looks like a long, slim ladle, he carefully spoons out some syrup and drizzles it on top of the taho amidst a symphony of voices urging, ‘More syrup pa po, Manong!’ Once there is enough syrup to appease the cries, Manong then scoops out little piles of sago, using it to top the taho. This time, as the cries start up again for ‘more sago,’ Manong gently tells us in Tagalog that there might not be enough for the others. For most people, it’s either the sago or the syrup that makes a taho.”

Trolling the Web for kindred spirits who fancy the unique food and beverage combination, I am amazed to realize that taho seems to have created a bond among breakfast and dessert bloggers who extol its innumerable virtues. Street food elevated to cuisine status?

Longing for authentic taho

Small wonder then that despite tonier establishments having sprouted to tempt their patronage, the intelligentsia pays obeisance to the classic taho in ways that boggle the imagination. Absence from native shores seems to bring about epiphanies of glorious days of yore sipping, err slurping, the bean curd afloat in sweet syrup with its sprinkling of miniature sago (tapioca) pearls.

Observe: “Oooh, taho! Yummy! Another Pinoy comfort food that I’m definitely missing! Whenever my craving for it gets bad, I just improvise. I use the silken tofu that they sell in the grocery stores. I then add some homemade arnibal (syrupy caramelized brown sugar) and boil the tapioca balls that I buy from the Asian stores in the area. The result is close, but alas, not quite the same!”

This longing for authentic taho, the acknowledged staple of sunlit hours, may also trigger nostalgia at dusk for penoy and balut, moonlit favorites both.

These days, after the piping hot, plain version of taho come the chilled, flavored versions, served in fancier cups to up their billing, in supermarkets and malls.

Taho, fancified

Travelers profess to an instant adulation of the standout that is Baguio’s strawberry taho, which has replaced the dark syrup with strawberry flavoring and the sago with fruit bits. In Greenhills, Tofurrific, which also has strawberry-flavored taho, besides ube, almond, pandan, chocolate, mango, cappuccino and langka flavors for the adventurous, continues to offer original taho.

Not to be outdone in product development is Cartimar’s Tionghwa Food Factory, which features taho combinations with either crunch ball, peanut, red bean, green bean, lotus seed, pearl barley or black jelly. Taho becoming more like hopia each passing day?

Elsewhere in the Philippines, the One Town, One Product (OTOP) campaign of the Department of Trade and Industry has even inspired the town of Bayambang, Nueva Vizcaya to include taho among its processed offerings.

Why fuss over taho? Its “nutrition facts” point to it as an excellent source of protein, without the bad cholesterol that meat products bring along. Besides preventing heart disease, taho and other soybean products are also known to prevent cancers of the breast, prostate, colon and uterus. These may also help prevent osteoporosis. In many, if not all instances, taho’s legend precedes it.

Before the fastfood branches caught on, the Makati taho vendor’s competitors comprised the Jollijeeps which served morning fare as well, along with the occasional kakanin seller. Now, although more upscale workers seem to have momentarily chucked their old reliable in favor of Figaro’s or Starbucks’ cappuccino, they would inevitably find their way to a reunion of sorts, some mornings.

How to make taho

Ingredients
3 cups mature and newly harvested soybeans
2 bars white gulaman
3 cups brown sugar
strainer (muslin or nylon cloth)

Procedure
1. Soak soybeans overnight in water 3 times its volume.
2. Remove outer covering, grind; add water little by little (at least 6 cups) while grinding.
3. Dissolve 2 bars gulaman in 7 cups of boiling water.
4. Pour the ground soybean in boiling gulaman for 7 minutes or until the odor of the grains is removed.
5. Set aside until mixture coagulates.
6. Serve with syrup.

For the syrup
Dissolve 3 cups of brown sugar in 3 cups water.
Source: The Philippine Recommends For Soybean (Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research & Development), 1991